Please read both reports to get different perspcetives on the regatta - one by the winner Tom Munroe (WH-77) and the other by Robert Fanning on WA-22
Silver Fleet 1-3 left to right:
Tom Munroe (WH-77) Reports:
The friendships, traditions and hospitality of the Wawasee E Scow Open continue in 2016. Last weekend WYC hosted over 30 E scows with the same themes as always. The open Keg. Lodging at member homes for all competitors. Home cooked meals from the volunteers running the kitchen, and of course great racing. Hats off to Mike Rian and the whole WYC membership for providing a regatta experience second to none.
Friday- Rigging, practicing and catching up! As we pull in with the windows down enjoying the warmth of early June in Northern Indiana we are greeted with the Jimmy Buffet/Reggae mix emanating from the WYC sound system and next by the WYC welcoming crew letting us know the Keg was running. The rest of the afternoon was spent rigging and catching up with friends not seen since last season. WYC served up a great home cooked spaghetti dinner if that was your choice. Others wandered over to the Sleepy Owl for dinner and drinks. Ours hosts were Jerry and Jan Hackleman and they were awesome. Other teams housed within the Herdrich, Hackleman, Pipp compound enjoyed some great after dinner conversation in the Herdrich party barn.
Saturday- Teams arrived at the club to a decent South to South West breeze and were told to pack up lunches and bring them out on the water as the goal was to get three races in before possible late afternoon storms hit.
Race 1 had winds in the 10 to 12 range with the usual Wawasee shifts. The big move in race one was made by first time E scow skipper Tony Pugh(CR-9) and team sailing their first regatta. On the second upwind Tony hit the left side hard and rode a big lefty all the way to the upwind mark challenging race leader Rob Terry on CR-66. Tony rounded ahead at the last bottom mark but a slight chute snafu by CR-9 gave Rob the edge on the last upwind. Rob went center/right thinking that the left wouldn’t pay as big again, Tony had other ideas and hit it hard again. It paid, but Rob was just able to hold Tony off for the race 1 win. Tony had a solid second. WH-77 was 3rd, WA-99 4th and TO-44 5th.
Race two was more of the same but the wind seemed to have settled in with a little more right to it. Phil Zalog (H-88) and the Herdrich/Pipp team on WA-47 jumped out to big leads with WA-99, TO-33, H-7, and WH-77 giving chase. Tony and Rob hit the left hard on the first upwind with a not so good result this time. At the bottom mark with one leg to go the race had tightened a bit but WA-47 was still chasing H-88. With the two lead boats covering each other WH-77 was able to sail in clear lanes, and found ourselves close to the lead boats with about 200 yards to the finish, we split tacks found a nice vein of wind and were able to sneak in for the win. The finish between WA-47 and H-88 was too close to call (so much for the tie going to the home team) and with a new twist on scoring both received 2.5 points!! Lon Schoor on H-7 was 4th and the Johanson’s on TO-33 were 5th.
As Race 2 ended the rain began. The fleet was speaking its mind and headed towards the club, but the RC said one more so the fleet reluctantly sailed back to the starting area. Casey Call and team on WA-99 led at the first mark followed by WH-77 and CR-66. WH-77 snuck by Casey on the downwind and opened up a decent lead by the last downwind mark only to go shrimping giving CR-66 the opening they needed to win race three. Brett Hatton and the SL-4 team sailed to a solid third. Lon was fourth and Casey Call was 5th. The very wet and very cold fleet headed back to the club put the wet boats away and hustled back to warm showers at our host homes.
Dinner was at the club and was very good. As always the Wawasee hospitality was much appreciated by the competitors.
Sunday brought a cold front from the Northwest and big winds. As is normal, stories of closing the Frog and late night swimming ensued as the fleet launched. Many teams were searching for a fourth and we were very lucky to find Charlie McClain as ours and he was great! Thanks to Terry Moorman for electing to stay on shore Sunday. With the wind gusting from 15 to 22 knots almost every team took 4.
Race 4 found WH-77 in first place at the upwind mark with CR-66 chasing hard. At the second upwind mark there was a little rubbing between them resulting in a turn for WH-77. CR-66 went on to win with WH-77 in second. WA-99, H-7 and TO-33 rounded out the top 5. Rob’s win pulled him within one point of the lead.
The wind in Race 5 had picked up so and many teams tightened their rigs. The race began and at the first upwind mark the leaders were Ted Keller guest skippering TO-44 for Casey Christiansen, JB Van Meter on WA-8, Mike Dow on CR-7, the Johanson’s on TO-33 and Lon Shor on H-7. CR-66 and WH-77 rounded in the low teens keeping pretty close track of each other. Boats were tipping over both upwind and downwind keeping the Wawasee rescue crew busy. The rescue team was on point and helped a number of teams get the stick back up, while others righted themselves and got back into the race. At the bottom of the first downwind leg those who went right were rewarded with a big shift in their favor, those on the left fell off. WH-77 was lucky to go right and pulled ahead of CR-66. However, the wind was ripping and the realization that one mistake could put any of us the drink was a reality. A number of leads boats experienced that unfortunate result. On the last downwind the wind stayed hard right and the only boats able to hold their chute the whole way down jibed right away, Jason Sutherland on GL-31 and Toby Sutherland on GL-7 both had great runs and were rewarded with great races. Many teams had to drop their chutes and reach to the downwind mark. Anyone who happened to look back saw a huge squall line coming down the lake. It hit hard and a downpour ensued for about 5 minutes drenching the fleet. As the rain subsided and the haze cleared, Mike Dow on CR-7 emerged with the bullet. WH-77 was second, TO-44 was third, with Jason and Toby 4th and 5th.
Back at the club with another great meal being prepared by the WYC team I reflected with my son Tom and jib man Jerry Gill that back in the late 1980’s Pete Price and Paul Wickland strongly recommended attending this event, that was great advice. We have made so many good friends over the years at Wawasee. WYC is special place for many teams and that is why so many of us come back year after year. So if you haven’t been to Wawasee, load up the team and come next year. The friendships, hospitality and traditions of the Wawasee E Scow Open are one of a kind. Thanks Wawasee Yacht Club!!
And don’t forget to sign up for the Western Michigan E Scow regatta in Boyne City where a new fleet and new venue is holding its first ever E-scow regatta.
http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_registration_email.cfm?eid=2816
Robert Fanning (WA-22) Reports:
A Perfect 10—Wind, Food, WH-77
The 33rd annual Wawasee E-scow Open was held June 3-5, 2016 with the best turn-out ever. 31 boats from 7 lakes saw conditions which ranged from flat calm for practice on Friday to full gale for the last race on Sunday. WH-77 (Tom Munroe) persevered through it all to accumulate just 10 points and a first place finish.
Race 1 began just about on time on Saturday morning with a fresh south wind at 10 mph. All 31 boats were anxious to get off the line with the predictable general recalls (two) and then the dreaded black flag for attempt number three. Half of the Crystal Lake contingent, CR-66 (Rob Terry) and CR-9 (Tony Pugh), got off the line timely and up the course, covering Munroe up and down all 5 legs. Terry had won a prior Wawasee Open with a near perfect score and he gave notice of his intent to repeat with a 1st place finish. Pugh was 2nd and Munroe 3rd. WA-99 (Casey Call) took advantage of years of local knowledge for a 4th place finish.
Race 2 featured a longer course and a longer starting line with a last minute shift favoring the committee boat end. Terry was all the way at the pin and after a tack or two found himself deep in the fleet with the possibility of a repeat win fading. Monroe on the other hand had a great start and never looked back; except to see WA-47 (Bob Herdrich) coming on strong. A light rain settled in about half way through the race, but it didn’t affect Munroe who held on for 1st. In a finish too close to call, Herdrich and H-88 (Phil Zalog) hit the line together and each earned 2.5 points. H-7 (Lon Schoor) hit his stride at 4th (which he equalled in races 3 and 4), TO-33 (Steve Johanson) was 5th and then, in a comeback of substantial proportion, Terry crossed 6th.
Race 3 featured continued rain and increased wind with a black flag displayed to encourage an uneventful start. No such luck as virtually the entire fleet was over early and offenders could not be identified. All boats started cleanly about 10 minutes later for the third five legger of the day. Terry and Munroe match raced while the rest of the fleet followed and looked for the shifts. The left side ended up best and those who went right on the last windward leg found their prior good looking positions lost for good. SL-4 (Brett Hatton) had the best of his three races with a 3rd.
Regatta Chair Mike Rian (WA-13), had the good sense to ask Daphne to prepare a spaghetti dinner Friday night and Kristi to fix the Saturday night roast pork banquet. Those two with their WYC cohorts put together the best regatta dinners ever. The WYC porch was a perfect venue for the usual stories and lies. After dinner Saturday, everyone looked forward to the forecast for stronger wind on Sunday.
Race 4 began 1 hour after the harbor gun and all boats were well manned with 4 crew; most in foul weather gear due to the also forecast rain. The wind was 12-14 mph out of the west and this allowed for a longer course 5 than on Saturday. Terry and Munroe—same general story line as on Saturday—1st and 2nd respectively. Call had a strong race with a 3rd and Schoor, as noted earlier, notched his third 4th and was back in contention. The wind stayed strong for all of race 4, but then, between races 4 and 5, seemed to slack. The race committee was making some adjustments when a front moved in from the north and the wind jumped from 10 mph to 20 mph just like that! If flotation, foul weather gear and life jacket were not in place, it was too late to get those deficits corrected.
Race 5 featured a short postponement to reset the course, followed by a start with a couple of individual recalls. Gusts in the 25-30 mph range made it interesting. No doubt all who survived—several didn’t—have stories worth telling about the fastest beat ever, the fastest run ever or the capsize avoided by the hair on the chinny chin chin. The second downwind featured a down pour of biblical proportions and then a significant drop in wind speed. CR-7 (Mike Dow) found the correct combination of guts and glory to finish 1st; Terry could do no better than 9th. Munroe’s consistency with another 2nd place finish clinched the trophy and Terry had to settle for 2nd.
Both Monroe and Terry were “speechless” at the awards ceremony. Tom had lost his voice due to two days of vocal direction and encouragement to his crew and Rob had to leave for his son’s wedding in China. Both crews took full credit for their strong finishes, minimized the roles of their silent skippers and had kind words about the regatta and the Wawasee Yacht Club.
Thank you to all who helped with the race management, the food, the logistics, registration and scoring and the yacht club set up on Friday and clean up on Sunday. And, a special thanks to Mercury Wireless for providing the beer. Clearly, phones and beer are necessary to the success of any regatta!
| 1st |
Gold |
WH-77 |
Tom Munroe |
3.0 |
1.0 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
10.0 |
| 2nd |
Gold |
CR-66 |
Rob Terry |
1.0 |
6.0 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
9.0 |
18.0 |
| 3rd |
Gold |
WA-99 |
Casey Call |
4.0 |
20.0 |
5.0 |
3.0 |
6.0 |
38.0 |
| 4th |
Gold |
H-7 |
Lon Schoor |
16.0 |
4.0 |
4.0 |
4.0 |
11.0 |
39.0 |
| 5th |
Gold |
WA-24 |
Tom Klaban |
9.0 |
8.0 |
16.0 |
12.0 |
7.0 |
52.0 |
| 6th |
Gold |
CR-7 |
Mike Dow |
19.0 |
13.0 |
13.0 |
7.0 |
1.0 |
53.0 |
| 7th |
Gold |
TO-44 |
Casey Christensen / Pete Comfort |
5.0 |
16.0 |
15.0 |
15.0 |
3.0 |
54.0 |
| 8th |
Gold |
TO-33 |
Steve Johanson |
8.0 |
5.0 |
6.0 |
5.0 |
32.0 DNF |
56.0 |
| 9th |
Gold |
GL-7 |
Tony Sutherland |
18.0 |
15.0 |
10.0 |
10.0 |
5.0 |
58.0 |
| 10th |
Gold |
SL-22 |
Paul Wickland |
10.0 |
25.0 |
7.0 |
13.0 |
8.0 |
63.0 |
| 11th |
Gold |
WA-47 |
Bob Herdrich |
12.0 |
2.5 |
11.0 |
14.0 |
25.0 |
64.5 |
| 12th |
Gold |
CR-11 |
Pete Price |
20.0 |
10.0 |
18.0 |
6.0 |
13.0 |
67.0 |
| 13th |
Gold |
CR-100 |
Bill Walter |
14.0 |
11.0 |
14.0 |
16.0 |
12.0 |
67.0 |
| 14th |
Gold |
H-1 |
Brendan Boylan |
7.0 |
7.0 |
8.0 |
32.0 DNC |
16.0 |
70.0 |
| 15th |
Gold |
CR-9 |
Tony Pugh |
2.0 |
18.0 |
9.0 |
22.0 |
22.0 |
73.0 |
| 16th |
Gold |
WA-22 |
Dick Tillman |
17.0 |
17.0 |
17.0 |
8.0 |
18.0 |
77.0 |
| 17th |
Gold |
WA-8 |
JB Van Meter |
15.0 |
21.0 |
12.0 |
11.0 |
21.0 |
80.0 |
| 18th |
Silver |
WA-17 |
Ben Herdrich |
11.0 |
12.0 |
25.0 |
19.0 |
14.0 |
81.0 |
| 19th |
Gold |
H-88 |
Phil Zalog |
13.0 |
2.5 |
22.0 |
28.0 |
19.0 |
84.5 |
| 20th |
Gold |
GL-31 |
Jason Sutherland |
21.0 |
24.0 |
19.0 |
17.0 |
4.0 |
85.0 |
| 21st |
Gold |
SL-4 |
Brett Hatton |
6.0 |
14.0 |
3.0 |
32.0 DNC |
32.0 DNC |
87.0 |
| 22nd |
Gold |
GL-23 |
David Lubchenco |
22.0 |
9.0 |
28.0 |
9.0 |
32.0 DNC |
100 |
| 23rd |
Silver |
WA-14 |
Mark Russell |
28.0 |
29.0 |
20.0 |
24.0 |
10.0 |
111 |
| 24th |
Gold |
SL-3 |
Bill Knape |
23.0 |
28.0 |
23.0 |
18.0 |
24.0 |
116 |
| 25th |
Gold |
WA-21 |
Brad Hursh |
26.0 |
23.0 |
32.0 DNC |
21.0 |
15.0 |
117 |
| 26th |
Silver |
WA-11 |
Jamison Herdrich |
29.0 |
27.0 |
24.0 |
20.0 |
17.0 |
117 |
| 27th |
Gold |
WA-00 |
David Irmscher |
24.0 |
19.0 |
26.0 |
23.0 |
26.0 |
118 |
| 28th |
Silver |
WA-200 |
Rick Lemberg, Sr. |
27.0 |
26.0 |
21.0 |
25.0 |
23.0 |
122 |
| 29th |
Silver |
WA-13 |
Mike Rian |
30.0 |
22.0 |
29.0 |
26.0 |
20.0 |
127 |
| 30th |
Silver |
WA-3 |
George Simpson |
31.0 |
31.0 |
27.0 |
27.0 |
32.0 DNF |
148 |
| 31st |
Silver |
WA-31 |
Terry Moorman |
25.0 |
30.0 |
32.0 DNF |
32.0 DNC |
32.0 DNC |
151 |